Sunday, February 2, 2014

Sweet words

Few things surpass the cute factor found in a mass of young children
making their best sour face. I think there is a super bowl commercial in there
somewhere.

I am blessed to be able to give the children’s message for church several
times a month. I don’t normally see a reason to wear a GoPro camera on my head
for such a task, but this week it would have been worth it. We started out
talking about faces we make when we eat things that are sour, sweet, or bitter.
Of course, we had to practice those faces.

After we practiced, we used our faces to decide how orange pop or tonic
water would taste. I assured the children they did not have to taste tonic water
to know it is bitter. We have a face app for that.

“. . . but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full
of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse
people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing
and cursing. My brothers,these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same
opening both fresh and salt water?James 3: 8-11 ESV

The point of the face making, and the pop, and the tonic water, was to
understand that sweet words bring joy and bitter words create resentment. Just as
we have come to expect sweetness every time we pour a glass of pop, the people
with whom we interact should not experience bitterness because of our words. Once
a drink is bitter it will not return to sweetness. Our bitter words can sour a
relationship. Our bitter words speak poorly of our faith. Our bitter words
speak volumes about our love and respect for God. These words are hard to
erase, once spoken (or posted).

To finish my message I asked the children if there was anything they
could say that could cause their mother or father to stop loving them? Their
faces were solemn at the thought, but confident in the expression of “no.” It
is wonderful, and powerful, to know that God loves us, no matter what. There is nothing we can say that would make Him
stop loving us; there is nothing we can say that could make Him love us more.

God’s love is sweet, sweet all the
time.

When I am angry, afraid, or disgusted and my thoughts begin to form words
of bitterness, it becomes a challenge to remember that the unconditional love
of my Father extends also to the person who has stirred the bitterness in my
heart.

If at the point at which I post those snarky, contemptuous comments, or
at the point at which I am about to lash out in verbal anger; if at that point I could remember that God
loves this person, too, then how could I spew bitterness?

The person who has made me angry, the one who has treated me poorly, the
Facebook friend who has insulted me, or the employer who has disrespected my
abilities, each of these people is loved by my Heavenly Father. Neither my anger
nor my contempt can change that love. While it is often right to let people
know when I have been hurt; it is never right for me to express bitterness,
insults, sarcasm or contempt. Moreover, if I need to correct my brother or
sister, I am instructed to do so in love.

My words are to be sweet, sweet all
the time.

This is an easy teaching for a children’s message; a teaching that inspires
head nodding during a sermon. It is a prayer that begs to be repeated in the
heart and mind, but impossible to produce in the cold, hard light of experience.
Suddenly the mouth that praised God on Sunday, the heart that prayed at
bedtime, the face that hours ago was lifted up to God in gratitude for His
unfailing love, becomes the weapon of choice for expressing anger – righteous or
not. My face, my heart, my words are so quick to turn bitter.